Garmin POI (Points of Interest) Loader

  
A great feature of GPS Sat Nav systems is POIs (Points of Interest). A point of interest (POI) shows the location of something on the map such as stores, restaurants, rest areas, petrol stations and so on. Of course some of the most popularly used satellite navigation POIs are Speed Camera locations!

What is POI Loader?

POI Loader is free software for your computer that lets you upload customized “Points of Interest” to your compatible Garmin unit. POI Loader does not create customized POIs, nor is it software for your Garmin GPS. It simply gives you the ability to upload POIs created by others from your computer to your compatible Garmin — making it easy for you to navigate directly to these points of interest.
See here for more links: GPS & Sat Nav Resources

What are Points of Interest?
POIs include restaurants, hotels, post offices, emergency services, entertainment, plus much more and are represented by small icons on the maps displayed on your unit. Many of the Garmin mapping products, such as MapSource City Select or City Navigator, include a database of nearly 6 million points of interest. With POI Loader, you can now add additional points of interest to your compatible Garmin. This means you can upload custom POIs to supplement the nearly 6 million points of interest that are already in your unit. Traveling on holiday? Upload the POI for that bed & breakfast that just opened or the new restaurant that your guide book recommends.

Custom POIs can also include .bmp images, as well as speed and proximity alert information. These POIs can be created by you, your friends, or third parties. There are several free and subscription services on the Internet that also provide POIs. See the Garmin Custom POI Sources web page for links to these third party websites.

How Does POI Loader Work?
POI Loader must first be installed on your computer. After installation, search and navigate to personalized POIs on your computer and use POI Loader to upload these points of interest from GPX or .CSV files to your compatible Garmin GPS or onto an SD card.

With POI Loader, you can configure your unit to alert you when you are within a certain distance of a point or if you are driving over a certain speed near a point — perfect to warn you about upcoming school zones, red lights, and speed cameras. For more information on POI Loader, see the help file that is included with the free software download.